The Godfather
by foxbird22
Summary: Tragedy strikes Corneria City as one fur assumes guardianship of a young lupine who just lost his father in a sudden horrible terrorist attack.


A strange aura of foreboding disaster laid heavily in the air of Corneria City as Fox McCloud walked through the city. His keen vulpine senses, for some odd reason, were on exceptionally high alert. He almost knew something unpleasant was going to happen, and a nauseating feeling ripped through his stomach. _Why am I so on edge?_ he thought, glancing around the city at its peaceful civilians hurrying through their day. The activity level of typical city life didn't seem to show any sense of danger, but the golden-orange vulpine pilot felt otherwise. Perhaps it was his heightened skill level as one of Lylat's most renowned mercenaries that activated his instincts. The fox paused momentarily, furs quickly passing around him in the crowded streets, as he perked his pointed ears to listen for any sign of what he felt might happen. His brilliant green and ever-vigilant eyes scanned the monstrosity of a city, as he looked for any minute sign that would indicate something horrible was about to happen.

Fox glanced around at all of the skyscrapers in the city, towering into the sky as if trying to pierce the atmosphere with their needle-like tops. Million-credit firms shined in the midday sunlight from Solar, the Lylat System's sun's rays making the metallic buildings glisten with their breathtaking size. Windows shone brightly in the light, reflecting blinding rays of hot light off of each other. The vulpine had to shield his eyes slightly from the pain of the rays, which added to the heat of the summer day. A light blanket of haze hung in the air, typical of the capital city. Fox could smell the fumes of the numerous vehicles carrying passengers, the civilians on board the mass transportation systems eagerly bustling to reach their destination located in one of the many huge firms cluttering the downtown capital area.

About two blocks down the street from Fox's location, a few scrambled yells became audible to Fox's sensitive ears. He instantly dashed from the spot he was just previously rooted to, as he flew down the concrete sidewalk passing the exact same looking buildings with every footpaw-step. Furs complained as the vulpine made a mad dash for the source of the yelling, as he barged his way through the sea of civilians blocking the sidewalks. Horns honked and engines screamed beside him on the road, adding to the vulpine's flustered sprint to the location now a block away. _I know something's happening, and I've got to stop it!_ he thought as he panted from strenuously pressing himself to fly through the city. The feeling in his stomach gave way to a new feeling of sickening death, as he gasped for air in the polluted sidewalks.

His white shirt stuck to the sweaty matted fur of his chest as he continued to run through the streets. The dark green dress shirt he wore flapped in the force of the wind he created, the unbuttoned sides slapping into the furs he quickly passed and shoved out of the way. Fox quickly became thankful that he decided to wear a pair of khaki shorts on his city visit, as opposed to the traditional flight suit that became his staple clothing. His powerful legs finished their exertion as Fox abruptly stopped at the intersection where the yelling had originated. He looked around frantically, his military-trained eyes searching for the disturbance he knew existed. After a brief second, he located the source of his worries, and to his distraught realization, what he feared actually happened.

A powerful explosion rocked the center of the intersection as pedestrians screamed in horror at the bomb that had detonated mere yards from their location. Some unfortunate furs were close enough to the attack that they were knocked off their footpaws, landing on the unforgiving asphalt of the street. Through the chaos that ensued, a black vehicle blasted through the crowd of panicking furs, making a fast getaway from the scene. Fox's keen eyes noted the black vehicle instantly, and identified it as one of Corneria's worst terrorist groups.

From the experience Fox had from living around disasters most of his life, he knew exactly how to handle this one before the police could arrive. He reached behind his back, feeling around his dress shirt for the hidden holster placed on the belt of his shorts. Locating the metal feel of the custom-modified blaster he never went anywhere without, he slowly withdrew it from the holster and dashed further into the intersection. Once he got near the location of the explosion, he flipped the blaster's setting to "audible stun" and pulled the trigger. Wave after wave of screeching wails emitted themselves from the blaster, as it drew energy from the air around it and released it as concentrated blasts of noise intended to stop riots from forming.

"Everybody stay calm! Call the rescue teams and stand back!" Fox yelled, his militaristic training controlling his actions at the moment. He logically surveyed the situation, not allowing himself to slip into a state of panic or shock like the surroundings furs. Everyone around him brought their immediate attention to the source of the order, and recognized Fox McCloud upon first sight. Knowing all too well who he was, they didn't hesitate to obey one of the most respected furs in the entire Lylat System. Fox noted that the furs slowly retreated from the intersection, allowing him and everyone else to see what exactly had happened. The militaristic aspect of Fox quickly eroded as a new feeling of remorse hit him on the muzzle like a million poisoned needles. A single vehicle stood in the center of the intersection, the metal frame blown to shreds by the bomb placed by the terrorist gang. The driver's side door of the vehicle was ajar, and only inches from it a middle-aged gray and white vulpine was being held in the arms of a young vulpine resembling the older. Fox instantly recognized the two furs.

As Fox stood in shocked awe at the tragic accident in front of him, he felt a huge wave of depression surge over him as he felt grief for the young lupine. Fox knew exactly what the youth was feeling, having just lost his father in such an unceremonious way. The stench of burning rubber and flesh reeked so bad that other pedestrians like Fox had to turn the other way and stifle themselves from gagging at the gruesome sight before them. Fox's eyes burned from the chemicals that the explosion released as he painfully took in the sights of the decimated car in the middle of the road. _How can terrorists be so cruel_, he thought. _That poor boy just lost his father, and he didn't even get the chance to say goodbye!_ The youth held his father in his arms, his gray and white fur splattered with the blood of his father. As the young lupine's features started to droop in shock from the loss, tears began to well up on his face and roll down his muzzle, as he quivered in sorrow. _I've got to comfort him,_ Fox thought, and he slowly walked over to the young lupine.

Fox carefully walked around the burning rubble of the street, still unable to believe that the older lupine had perished so gruesomely. His legs were shredded to bits from the force of the vehicle explosion, chunks of bloody flesh hanging loosely and about to fall to the hard surface of the road. The lupine's waist was lacerated to the point where he could almost be considered cut in half, as floods of blood poured out of the deep wound. Traces of white bone could be seen around the thighs, a sharp piece of shrapnel gouged in the flesh as if in an attempt to puncture the very soul of the older lupine. At least his head was still slightly unharmed, for which Fox was thankful, because the young lupine was able to lovingly caress the remains of his father. The older lupine looked to be about the same age as Fox's father when he died at the hands of Andross.

Hatred began to course through Fox's veins as he recalled what the evil scientist had done to his life. Fox remembered the day when he learned of his father's death only too well. The hatred slowly started to fade away as Fox felt feelings of depression and sadness overwhelm him. He rubbed a shiny tear out of his eye, as it matted the fur of his white muzzle from the wetness. Fox had collapsed to his knees when he learned of his father's death, unable to prevent the barrage of pain from controlling him and forcing him to wallow in the harsh reality of his loss. It was so many years ago that Fox was no longer as affected by the memories of his father, but the fact remained that he continued to feel the same remorse and anger every day of his life.

Fox reached the young lupine, and placed a hand-paw on the youth's shoulder. The lupine stopped to glance up at Fox, his dark purple eyes so distant and distraught. Streams of tears ran down the youth's muzzle, matting his fur with wetness. His fur was stained a shade of red from his father's blood, one of the only physical things that remained of his father. The youth shook from a mixture of shock, fear, and what would be future hatred and a strong instinct for revenge. Fox saw a reflection of himself in the young lupine's body, the same beauty of youth so tragically marred by the unforgiving painful reality of death. The young lupine lovingly lowered his dead father to the ground, and turned to embrace Fox as he felt security in the older vulpine's arms. Fox whispered to the young lupine, knowing that he would soon be in his care, for he knew that's what his ex-rival would have wanted.

"It will be alright. Come on, let's go and get cleaned up," Fox comfortingly said to Wolf O'Donnell's son.

**Author's Notes**

What did you guys think of that? It's based on an example I thought of while writing an article on how to write good emotions. Hopefully I've done a good job with them here! In case you're wondering, I did get some slight inspiration from the movie for this oneshot.

This oneshot is not related in any way to _Sudden Invasion_ or _A Collision of Worlds_. I have no plans to carry this farther or connect it at all to my main story. Fox McCloud, Corneria, and Wolf O'Donnell are copyright Nintendo. My ideas are copyright myself.


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